Goodbye Cribs! Goodbye Booster Seats!

Grant & Grace are currently in their new toddler beds for the second night in a row. We intended to do this one child at a time, but we should have known better. As soon as Grace saw Grant's toddler bed last night, she wanted nothing to do with her crib. She even crawled in Grant's bed and said night night. So we knew right then there was no way we were getting her to go to sleep in her crib when she knew Grant was in a big boy bed. At 6:30 last night, we converted her crib. (We translates to "David" by the way.) They both went to sleep in about 10 seconds and did not fall out all night! This morning when they woke up they both sat in their beds until we came and got them. Tonight's bedtime routine was just as easy! This transition has been entirely too smooth so far! I'm speechless!


When we put our house on the market last week, we decided to remove Grant & Grace's booster seats from the kitchen table to "de-clutter" and have been letting G & G sit at a little table to eat. They love it! They sit there until they are done, eat off of dishes using utensils, and they are so proud of themselves. My babies are not babies anymore. They are toddlers! Where does the time go? We are proud of you, Grant & Grace!

3 Simultaneous Naps= 1 Happy Mommy!

We had a fun trip to the zoo today with our friends Olivia, Maury, Ella Grace and Carter!
Grant & Grace loved their first train ride at the zoo. Until now I have not been brave enough to do this with three kids by myself. However, Grant & Grace did very well. One sat on each side of me, and they loved it! Henry is so big that he just opted for sitting with his friends!

We had fun eating lunch until the roosters came over to visit. Grant & Grace freaked out, and then the older kids thought they were supposed to be panicking too! Bless their hearts!

Amazingly, all three are asleep right now! Maybe we'll go to the zoo more often now that it is starting to cool off just a tad!

Enjoying August

We are enjoying these last few days of summer so much! This afternoon we headed to the neighbor's house to swim before dinner. Henry swam the entire time, while G & G opted for pretty much anything but the water!


We had friends over for a cookout last night. It was nice for the adults that the kids could really play and entertain each other. Emme & Grace are going to be big buddies one day. They were born two weeks apart! Henry & Taylor had fun playing "Star Wars" while Grant & Grace taught Emme how to dance on their table. (Sorry for the bad influence of my kids, Kristie & Jason!)

18 Month Checkup

This picture says it all! (Excuse the quality. It was taken on my iphone.) Prior to Grant & Grace's 18 month checkup, their beloved big brother was taunting them. Henry repeatedly said, "The doctor's gonna shot ya! Hey, Grant & Grace, he's gonna shot you, but he's not gonna shot me!" David & I could have killed him!! So of course when we arrive at the doctor's office, Grant & Grace immediately start plotting their escape. Grace pulled a chair over to the door to help Grant push. Henry was getting in on the action. The chaos at the doctor starts the minute we walk in the door! (Maybe that is why we never have to wait? They see us coming & alert everyone to get us in and out ASAP!) Ha!

The checkup went well. Grant is in 50% for height & weight. Grace is in the 40%. Grace was 31.25" tall and weighed 23 lb. 14 oz. Grant was 32.25" tall and weighed 25 lb. 10 oz. They braved four shots each and hopefully won't need any more vaccinations until they get ready to start kindergarten! Whew! We did it. Vaccinations are over in this family for a while!

Look What Was In Our Cul-de-sac!

Henry & I had fun this morning taking pictures of this little guys. He actually wasn't super little. I would say he was a medium sized turtle! Henry said, "Mom, I've never seen a turtle at our house before!" We have a bunny that has been eating my flowers for five years, and various other critters have come and gone....but the turtle is a first!

On a side note, I'm sadly going to have to return to smaller pictures on the blog. The bigger sized pictures are proving to be very difficult to format into my book I publish each year from the blog entries. So it's back to smaller pictures until I get a bit more blog savvy!

First Day of N4 & 3K

This picture makes me laugh so much! This was taken Monday morning before the kids' first day of preschool this year. I cannot believe Henry is starting his 4th year and Grant & Grace are starting their second. I only have one more "first day of preschool" for Henry before kindergarten! How is that possible? The kids had a great first day. I left from school and went to the airport to fly out to Chicago, but I had such a peace knowing they were in such good hands. We have grown to know and love so many of the teachers so dearly, so I knew I had nothing to worry about! All three had a great first week!

18 Months!

I cannot believe Grant & Grace are 18 months old! Where does the time go? They are talking like crazy, using some small sentences, climbing, running, walking up and down stairs without assistance, learning to clean up toys, telling us what they want, pointing out body parts, reminding us to say the blessing at dinner, sharing, hugging, kissing, and fighting with their siblings! What a crazy wonderful 18 months it has been! We love you, Grant & Grace, and we are so thankful for the countless ways you bless our family each and every day!

And below, a sweet pic I had to post: this is Grace wearing a dress that was mine as a little girl. She wore it to church recently! What a special pic!

A Week in the Windy City

I spent the week in Chicago for work, while super Dad David took care of the munchkins. Many thanks to David and our sweet parents who helped out an unimaginable amount this week! I'm hoping at my next conference in two years the kids will be big enough to come along!

Here are a few pics from my trip...

Navy Pier...

The Chicago Skyline! I biked along lake Michigan on Thursday. It was so beautiful. I biked for miles and miles. It was great exercise and such a fun way to see that part of the city. The weather was just beautiful all week. I'm not sure I'd want anything to do with Chicago in the winter, but in August, it was quite nice!

Grant Park

The Chicago River

The Magnificent Mile was right by our hotel. I had a great time shopping multiple days here both with friends and by myself! I was in heaven! There were also some great places to eat nearby, so I got to try what many people told me was the best place for a Chicago deep dish pizza in town. (And it was good!) I also got the opportunity to go (with about 200 coworkers) to a Second City Show on Monday night. I hate David wasn't there. He would have loved it. The best way to describe it would be SNL times 10. It was quite funny!

SURPRISE!!

Friday night I surprised David with a 30th birthday party with about 60 of his closest friends at the Rooftop Bar "Above" at the Redmont Hotel. David was very surprised. The look on his face when he got off the elevator was priceless. We had a great time with so many fun friends, and it was a birthday I don't think he'll ever forget. Many thanks to all that came and made it so special. We owe a special thanks to Mimi & Papa for keeping the kids so we could spend the night at the Redmont Hotel, and we also owe a huge thanks to Nana for making the b'day cake!

"First look" as he stepped off the elevator!

David with his sweet Momma!

There were many laughs as David tried to take it all in and figure out how in the world I had planned this without him having a clue!




The cake!

David's sisters, their husbands, his parents, and us. (As Jenny pointed out, we were only short 9 kids from having a complete family pic!)

Here's a pic of Jennifer, Lauren & me. We have been friends for a very long time! I wish I had taken more pictures with friends Friday night, but I decided to put the camera down and just enjoy the night! What a great birthday weekend it has been! Happy Birthday, David!

Happy 5th Birthday, Carter!

Henry had a great time Saturday morning at Carter's 5th Birthday party. Henry calls him "Big Carter," since we have a little Carter friend and also a cousin Carter! We had to have a way to keep them all straight! Carter's party was at Head Over Heels Gymnastics, and the kids had a blast!

Henry loved the zip line which landed him in the ball pit!

SCBC Preschool Party!

We had so much fun at the preschool play party on Wednesday night at church. They had bubbles, bouncers, bikes, face painting and popsicles. The kids had a blast and collapsed when we got home!